Legal Question in DUI Law in Texas

I have recently had surgery for back pain and have had a spinal cord stimulator placed in my back due to pain in my lower back and left leg. While driving home the other day, I turned my stimulator on and it sent a very strong pulse down my left leg which caused me to jerk the steering wheel in response and hit a contruction barrel. I immediately pulled my vehicle off the road and stopped in the nearest parking lot until I could get the stimulator shut off. During this time a police officer pulled in behind me as I was getting out of the vehicle and began shouting at me to get against my car. I informed him of the stimulator and he would not let me continue to shut it off, but instead had me place it on top of the car. As he approached me, I nervously answered his question of had I been drinking and I stated that I had 2 beers after leaving work. I showed him the card that stated I had the device implanted and that I was in serious pain as it felt like I was being shocked due to still not being able to turn the device off. He then told me to sit on the curb even after I informed him that sitting was making it worse. I asked him if I could lay down on my stomach becuase nothing was helping. He then handed me the remote to the stimulator and told me to turn it off. I attempted to turn it off and told him that the battery was dying and that it was not getting a signal to the device. He then told me that he called an ambulance and that I was being taken to the hospital. Upon arrival to the hospital, I was met by another set of officers who performed the "follow the pen" test and blood was drawn immediately. After the blood was taken, I was told that I was being charged with DWI and was handed a paper which the officer began reading off of. When it stated that I was being arrested, I asked if I needed a lawyer and he stated that "It was not necessary," and did not stop reading the paper to ask if I wanted one present. My wife arrived with the charger to the device and the device was turned off which immediately took care of the pain. He informed me that the bood results would take 30-45 days to come back and that I was probably very close to the legal limit, but I would be contacted when it came back. He then released me to my wife and told her that I shouldn't hire a lawyer because I could fight it myself and that I didn't appear extremely intoxicated. I need to know what I should do from here. I work in a profession where I drive a company vehicle and have 5 kids which makes driving mandatory. The officer informed me that I could be given a occupational license so that I can continue to drive for these instances but I fear that this will get me fired from my position. I do not have a lot of money to pay for legal services, but will do what is necessary to get this off my record. I know that I can oblige by the probation where if I stay clean for a period of time, it never gets put on my record but don't want to plead guilty and then get this on my record for good. Please help me with what I should do.

Chad


Asked on 5/02/11, 2:08 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Cynthia Henley Cynthia Henley, Lawyer

Whether or not you were extremely drunk does not matter. The question is whether you were over the legal limit / intoxicated. If the blood test comes back over the limit, you absolutely will be prosecuted. If it comes back under, you probably won't be prosecuted. (Just because one is not over the legal limit does not necessarily mean one is not intoxicated but generally the State will not prosecute under the legal limit.)

I'm not understanding if you were charged or not. If you did not make a bond, then you were not charged. An officer cannot simply release you - you have to be booked - mug shot & fingerprints taken. My guess is that you were not charged but they are awaiting the outcome of the blood work.

You do not need a lawyer unless you are charged. You did not refuse the breath test nor fail it therefore that should not be an issue at this time. You might go ahead & shop around for a lawyer in your area in the event that you are charged. (If you had only 2 beers, then you should be safe. If you also take medications to help with pain, etc., then the story could be different.) If you are prepared for charges then they may never happen.

Moral of the story - don't drink and then drive and don't use your machine while driving - pull over to use it.

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Answered on 5/02/11, 2:17 pm


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